Summary edit

DescriptionMARCUS Runaway Ad Philadelphia Gazette 22 September 1800 p4.jpg	English: 1800 runaway advertisement for Marcus, an enslaved house servant at George Washington's Virginia plantation, Mount Vernon: "MARCUS, One of the House Servants at Mount Vernon, Absconded on the second instant, and since has not been heard of. He is a young lad, about 16 years of age, a bright mulatto, dark blue eyes, long black hair, about 5 feet 4 or 5 inches high, and of a slender make. He had on when he left this place a coat and jacket of dark mixture, black and white, and black breeches – but having various suits, one of black, and another of very light drab, it is uncertain which of these he now wears. Originally, his name was Billy and possibly he may resume the same. It is very probable he may attempt to pass for one of those negroes that did belong to the late Gen. Washington, and whom Mrs. Washington intends in the fall of this year to liberate – the public are therefore warned against any such imposition, as he is one of those negroes which belongs to the estate of Washington P. Custis Esq. and held by right of dower by Mrs. Washington during her life. I will give Ten Dollars Reward to any person who shall apprehend the said negro and lodge him in some safe gaol, upon producing me a certificate to that effect; and will also pay all reasonable charges over and above this reward, for the delivery of him to me at this place. Ship Masters are hereby forewarned not to take on board Marcus; and those who are found to secret or harbor him, will be punished as the law directs. JAMES ANDERSON, Mount Vernon, [Virginia.] August 28."
Date	22 September 1800
Source	The Philadelphia Gazette & Daily Advertiser, page 4.
Author	James Anderson, overseer of Mount Vernon.
Permission (Reusing this file)	Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States. This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/PDMCreative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0falsefalse

Background

The 1786 Mount Vernon Slave Census lists Billy as the son of "House Charlotte," and "4 yrs. old." His mother, Charlotte, is listed as one of three seamstresses at the "Home House" (the Mansion). Her presumed husband, Austin (Billy's father), is listed as one of two "Waiters in the House." Also listed are Charlotte's infant son, Timothy (Billy's brother), "1 yrs. old;" and Austin's mother, Betty (Billy's grandmother), another seamstress at the house. All of these names are marked with asterisks as "Dower Negros," meaning they were the property of the Daniel Parke Custis Estate.[1]

Charlotte went on to have three more children, Elvey, Jenny, and Eliza (Billy's sisters), born between 1786 and 1795.

In 1789, Austin was brought to New York City, then the national capital, to work in Washington's presidential household.[2] The next year, he was brought to Philadelphia, the temporary national capital from 1790 to 1800, to work in Washington's presidential household there. Following a fall from a horse, Austin died on December 20, 1794 in Harford, Maryland, while traveling from Philadelphia to Mount Vernon to spend Christmas with his family.[3] Austin's sister, Oney Judge (Billy's aunt), also worked in both presidential households. She escaped to freedom from Philadelphia in May 1796.[4]

By 1799, Billy's name had been changed to Marcus. This may have been his choice, or one imposed by the Washingtons. The 1799 Mount Vernon Slave Census lists Marcus as a "Hs Ser." [House Servant], no age given, with "no Wife."[5] archive copy at the Wayback Machine

"Dower" slaves

Martha Washington's first husband had been Daniel Parke Custis (1711–1757). As widow, she was granted the use of one-third of the Custis Estate's enslaved Africans during her lifetime, hence the term "dower" slaves. At the time of her 1759 marriage to George Washington, the dower slaves numbered at least 85 enslaved persons.[6] They were brought to live and work at Mount Vernon, and some later intermarried with George Washington's enslaved Africans.

In his 1799 Last Will and Testament, George Washington directed that his enslaved Africans be freed — which was accomplished on January 1, 1801. But he did not have the power to free the dower slaves. Following Martha Washington's 1802 death, the Custis Estate was settled and the by-then approximately 153 dower slaves were distributed among the four Custis grandchildren. This runaway ad indicates that Billy/Marcus was to be inherited by Washington P. Custis.

At age 18 — Billy/Marcus escaped to freedom from Mount Vernon on August 2, 1800, but it is not known if he was ever captured and forced to return to slavery. The Fugitive Slave Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3) guaranteed the property rights of slaveholders and allowed slavecatchers to operate in all U.S. states and territories, even those in which slavery had been abolished. Living as a fugitive slave, Billy/Marcus would have been subject to capture at any moment, for the rest of his life. If he survived until 1863, he finally would have been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation — at age 81.

Licensing edit

	This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929.
This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/PDMCreative Commons Public Domain Mark 1.0falsefalse